Vasundhara Raje’s Gaurav Yatra A Failure, Says Sachin Pilot

Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot on Tuesday said the BJP’s party workers’ feedback meetings were prompted by the poor response from its cadres and people to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s recently concluded ‘Gaurav Yatra’.

Ms Raje had undertaken a 58-day pre-poll tour to seek people’s mandate ahead of the December 7 Assembly elections. BJP president Amit Shah flagged off the tour on August 4.

“They did not get the required support from their cadres, therefore they conducted meetings to seek feedback from the party workers at Ranakpur and Jaipur. This kind of outreach programme is just to make the party workers happy, but things have already been decided,” said Mr Pilot.

He said Ms Raje’s pre-poll tour has been a failure.

The BJP held three-day party workers’ feedback meetings in Ranakpur and Jaipur from October 14-16 and October 20-22 respectively. The meetings sought the party workers’ opinion about the probable candidates.

Opinion from 12,000 party workers from all the 200 assembly constituencies of the state was sought in 11 sessions held over six days in Ranakpur and Jaipur, Union minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at a press conference here on Tuesday.

Mr Pilot claimed the BJP’s decision to drop 100 or more of its MLAs showed that the party was making them scapegoats to save Ms Raje.

“They are looking to reduce the anti-incumbency with such steps but there is resentment among the public against Raje. She must be held accountable and not the sitting MLAs,” he said.

“The BJP does not trust its own MLAs. So how does it expect the people of Rajasthan to trust it? The BJP has been exposed and it will face a defeat in the (upcoming) assembly elections,” he said.